Recently, Indeed and LinkedIn recently began ad campaigns highlighting the power of their AI career tools. One seems to hit a little better.
Indeed’s ad was supporting its new AI “Career Scout” feature, which takes individuals through each step of the job search process, from resume building and applications to the job interview itself. The ad took a creative approach to search-related pain points, illustrating them in unique, relatable ways that portrayed a real understanding of the issues their target audience is experiencing. Additionally, the ad was a minute long, which gave it more time to develop a compelling story, adding value to the message.
See the Indeed ad in full: https://musebyclios.com/advertising/indeed-has-fun-with-its-ai-search-agent/
LinkedIn’s ad promotes its new AI powered job-search feature. The commercial highlights the difficulties people face in finding jobs of interest, from work in the non-profit sector to positions using their people skills. The ad demonstrates LinkedIn’s ability to help a variety of people and powerfully positions themselves as a company that fulfills career dreams. However, it is unclear how the AI search feature addresses this issue, as the ad does not explain any capabilities beyond a search function.
See the LinkedIn ad in full: https://www.ispot.tv/ad/Bwm1/linkedin-ai-powered-job-search
Both commercials touch on the difficulty of finding a job in today’s tough market. But LinkedIn does not provide a description of what makes the AI search better than what consumers have previously been doing. In short, there is not a compelling reason to believe in the new offering. Instead, they continually focus on a single pain point while leveraging their well-deserved brand equity to foster confidence in their product.
On the other hand, Indeed’s ad goes deeper. They acknowledge the difficulties of finding a new job and then illustrate that point in ways that address several pain points. First, they visually show each person as a “resume,” dramatizing that an application is just one in a stack of hundreds or thousands that will be received and often overlooked. Then, they demonstrate that many jobs are not good a good fit by presenting an image of applicants wearing poorly fitted clothing. While these people may somewhat meet the position specs, there are jobs that would be more suited to their talents. Finally, they acknowledge that the current system is not effective, and that something needs to change, stating “If you’re waiting for the job search to change, you’ll be here ‘till the cows come home.” Which is where their product, “Indeed Career Scout,” comes into play. The ad subsequently shows how the product can solve the issues that were highlighted, demonstrating how it is better than what job searchers have been experiencing. The Indeed ad seems to truly understand the issues applicants are facing, which generates a connection between those people and the brand.
So, what is the most important takeaway from the differences in these two ads? Perhaps most significant is the difference in messaging, with one focused more narrowly and the other more broadly, and with one showing a more complete understanding of their AI tool’s functionality.
While it is certainly too early to judge the effectiveness of these competing approaches, the stark differences in their messaging may likely have an impact given the similarities of their target audiences.